Visit Holy Land, Jerusalem Church leaders beg

Catholic World News

Jerusalem, Nov. 19 (AsiaNews) – Leaders of all the Christian churches
in Jerusalem have joined in a common plea to the Western world, urging
all Christians to visit the Holy Land and support the dwindling
Christian community there.

The joint statement– “A call to all people of faith: Visit the Holy
Land”– was signed by representatives of the Roman Catholic, Greek
Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Russian Orthodox, and Protestant
communities in Jerusalem. It was the first time that all these
Christian leaders had jointly signed such a document.

“There are many things that divide Christians, but there are many more
that unite us,” remarked Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of
the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

The joint statement was released in advance of the Christmas season,
when Christian pilgrims traditionally make plans to visit Bethlehem.
In recent years, the violence in the Middle East has caused a dramatic
decline in the number of Christian pilgrims to the region. The Israeli
Tourism ministry reports that in the year 2000, Christians made up 60
percent of all the tourists visiting Israel; thus far in 2004, that
number is down to 29 percent.